North American Skater
NICHOLAS
MERKLEY
POSITION: C
SHOOTS: Right
HEIGHT: 5' 10"
Weight: 191
Born: 05/23/1997
Mid Term Rank: 13
Nationality: Canadian
Club: Kelowna
League: WHL

• Merkley helped the Rockets win the Ed Chynoweth Cup as Western Hockey League champions for the fourth time in franchise history, leading all players with 22 assists and placing third with 27 points (5-22—27) in 19 postseason outings. He also collected five points (3-2—5) at the 2015 Memorial Cup to guide Kelowna to the championship game before falling to Oshawa.

• During the 2014-15 regular season, Merkley led the Rockets and finished sixth in the WHL with 90 points (20-70—90) in 72 games to help the club finish atop the Western Conference.

• Merkley won WHL Rookie of the Year honors in 2013-14 after finishing third among rookies with 58 points (25-33—58) in 66 games as a 16-year-old.

• His most memorable hockey moment is winning gold with Canada at the 2014 Ivan Hlinka Memorial, where he served as an assistant captain. Merkley also wore an “A” and tallied five points (2-3—5) at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, helping Team Pacific capture silver.

• His older brother, Jay, played the last four seasons in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos.

• Merkley spent the summer after his WHL rookie season training alongside Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers and Mike Green of the Washington Capitals.

• He first skated at age two on Lake Bonavista in Calgary.

NEWS

MERKLEY GETTING AHEAD BY WATCHING, LISTENING TO OTHERS (click here)

FAVORITES

NHL team: Chicago Blackhawks
NHL player: Patrick Sharp
Shootout move: "Five-hole deke"
Goal celebration: "Finger point"
Video game: NHL 15
Movie: Fury
TV show: Dexter
Actor: Brad Pitt
Musician: Keith Urban
Website: NHL.com
Sport (other than hockey): Tennis
Athlete (non-hockey): LeBron James